BANGKOK, Feb 26 (V7N) — A double-decker bus crash in Thailand left 18 people dead on Wednesday after the vehicle’s brakes apparently failed while descending a hill, police said.

The accident occurred in Prachin Buri province, east of Bangkok, as one of three buses carrying local government officials on a field trip veered off the road.

"There were 17 people found dead at the scene, and one more later died in hospital," said Police Lieutenant Colonel Siwapass Phuripatchaiboonchu.

A total of 49 people were on board, and survivors have been taken to two hospitals for treatment.

Thailand has one of the highest road fatality rates in the world, with 20,000 deaths annually, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Poor vehicle maintenance and reckless driving are cited as major causes of the country's frequent accidents.

The crash comes just months after Thailand’s deadliest road accident in a decade—an October school bus fire in Bangkok that killed 23 people, most of them children.

Authorities are investigating the crash, and the bus driver has been questioned.

END/WD/RH/